The new decentralized e-commerce platform Buying.com has just announced the launch of its minimum viable product (MVP) on Android and iOS of its forthcoming free mobile application the ‘Direct Product App’ (or DPA).

DPA acts as a central hub to deliver benefits to customers such as consumers and manufacturers and, according to official company statements: core aspects of the DPA’s forthcoming “proprietary technology” are exemplified in the recently released MVQ.

Tips for purchases

Key features incorporated into DPA include ‘tipping’, a mechanism where an entire community of purchasers are rewarded based on the accomplishments of its top contributors. And the ability to micromanage the inventory limits of its participants with the aim of driving “demand and consumer response”.

Additional features incorporated include ‘incentive-based social sharing’, which aims to gain Buying.com exposure whilst simultaneously ensuring participation of sharers with token-based compensation.

In doing this, Buying.com undoubtedly aims to gain a healthy market share of their own in the increasingly lucrative e-commerce sector.

E-commerce without middlemen

Buying.com promises to deliver a decentralized peer-to-peer marketplace and logistics system using a number of proven solutions into their own unique attempt at superseding the status quo of dominant market leaders in a wide range of e-commerce related areas, such as Amazon.

At its core, it is a delivery network which uses distributed ledger technology to connect consumers and independent retailers directly with product manufacturers. These parties have enabled access to the lowest prices at a wholesale level by pooling their respective resources to achieve ‘minimum order quantities’ (MOQ).

Hoping to become a pioneer in the blockchain disruption of e-commerce, Buying.com is (according to its website) “for the first time in history” giving “each individual… the buying power of millions in the palm of their hands!” by which the company is primarily referring to, most likely, the mobile app.

How It Works?

Buying.com incorporates an arsenal of core functions to accomplish their goals. ‘Microdistribution’ connects independent storage providers directly with retailers, using the proprietary mobile app as a means of recording and monitoring real-time logistics data. It also contains “integrated Backoffice e-commerce processing technology: like Salesforce.”.

The purported aim is to optimize costs for drop-shipping and to provide transparency by way of immutable encrypted blockchain storage from dispatch through to delivery stage. Those wishing to participate can do so via coin staking (using a consensus mechanism the company describes as both ‘Proof of Delivery’ and ‘Federated Byzantine Agreement’).

Segueing from the subject of drop-shipping, the primary partnerships of the company count blue-chip international giants like Sony, HP, Ralph Lauren and Nescafe. Buying.com likens itself frequently (or touts its features in comparison) to different companies such as Costco, Alibaba, and Walmart – influences it appears to wear on its sleeve.

Key ‘middle-ware’ software and protocol used in the DPA and Buying.com infrastructure include Proxeus, a data storage DApp which integrates “blockchain workflows in parallel with existing systems’.

The Buying.com MVP is available now for iOS and Android devices whilst the token sale commenced in October 2018 and the cryptocurrency remains available for purchase and investment. Furthermore, Buying.com is currently in pre-ICO stage (hence the discount), and the full public fundraising round is scheduled to run between the first of December 2018 through to the final day of January 2019.